Burney Co. Sells 455 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Burney Co. reduced its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,741 shares of the company’s stock after selling 455 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 468.4% in the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 56.3% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Argus lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $87.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.62.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.